ISLAMABAD: Senate Defence Committee Chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status would boost trade between the European Union (EU) and Pakistan and also be a stimulus for the revival of economy.A delegation of the Senate Defence Committee led by its Chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed visited the EU Headquarters and the European Parliament in Brussels and held a meeting with EU Special Representative for Central Asia Patricia Flor.Sayed also addressed an expert dinner roundtable on ‘Prospects and Challenges for Pakistan’s Regional Security’, which was attended by diplomats, parliamentarians and think tank experts. The European parliamentarians met by the delegation, included Head of EU Election Observers Mission Michael Gahler and Head of EU Friends of Pakistan Sajjad Karim, both of whom played a pivotal role in lobbying for EU’s GSP Plus status for Pakistan.During the interaction with the EU, the senator thanked the European Parliament for their overwhelming approval of GSP Plus for Pakistan, which, he said, was a vote of confidence in Pakistan’s democratic view and Pakistan’s pivotal role in the current regional context. During its stay in Brussels, the delegation also visited NATO Headquarters and held a meeting with NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow. Sayed said that Pakistan deserved more international support because the stability of Pakistan would contribute to regional security as well as be a plus for Pakistan’s role in facilitating the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan. He said that while the United States is spending $2.5 billion every week on the war in Afghanistan, which comes to $10 billion per month expenditure, the US was providing $7.5 billion in assistance to Pakistan over a five-year period, which, turned out to be less than one month’s expenditure for the Afghan war. He also referred to the dynamism of Pakistani society, especially role of youth, women and the private sector entrepreneurs.The Senate Defence Committee delegation comprised Sayed, senators Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, Sabir Baloch, Haji Adeel and Sehar Kamran.